The Society On Da Run #1: La Cicala di Italia
By Nipaporn Baldwin
Published by Geppetto Garten/Nipaporn Baldwin
Released 10/5/11 © 2011 licensed CC-BY-NC-SA
COVER IMAGE: Planet earth with sunrise in space © Reistlin Magere at Fotolia.com
Inside image: Yin Yang Baby Dragon/Ashuton Deformed © Nipaporn Baldwin
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Editorial
Hello there!
When you start reading you might say “how unrealistic!” or “Dragons are mythical creatures! They don’t have cities and spaceships!” or “this drivel sucks! Epic fail!” I just want to say this: I am a writer, which means I WRITE what my heart tells me. Whether it’s unbelievably unrealistic or as real as real gets, I write for the heck of it and I write for fun. These space dragons are the product of my heart’s imagination, so please deal with it.
That’s all.
I also ask that you review my chapbooks when you are done.
Sincerely, Nipaporn
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact me through my official website if you have fan mail, poetry commission requests, interview requests, or if you want me on your television show: http://princesslilo.wordpress.com/contact-us/
This book on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11194442-la-cicala-di-italia
Table of Contents
0
The great dragon-god spoke unto his children, and said to never fear.
The circle of Heretics blazed afire, and the teachings reached those born anew into this world.
The vessel they are crafting carries their soul. High he flew, and from the great fires came a new hope, and light banished thee from Terra.
The Book of the DRAGONS 4:1
1: Going Nowhere
It’s been deserted for thirty years
No one but you
No one but you and your dragon
You two are alone in this vast and deserted complex
You walk around
The walls tell a tale of blood, scriptures and symbols
Only dim blue lamps on the ceiling light your way
After a long while of walking you are finally there
Outside silky, slimy webbing attached to the trees shrouds the sky
The feeling you get; the color scheme, it’s all blue
Light blue and dark blue
And you lay your eyes on the giant vessel that crash-landed here
The massive dragon is covered in the webbing
The Earth has tangled herself around him
Leafs, weeds and vines
And behind him is the coliseum
Your dragon is afraid of the creature that lay before you
Yet you touch it
And when you touch it you feel light headed
And then you feel a surge of power
The dragon lights up, light blue and red
It slowly moves its arm that it hadn’t used in a thousand years
You step back and watch
Watch as you realize you have just initiated the end of the world
DRAGON WAR INTRODUCTION
Hell reined the skies of Earth. The Lucerano Empire had finally clashed with the Antonin Empire, thus resulting in a war between the controlled parties of Italy. Lucerano, descendants of the Crotonian Empire, owned part of North Italy and had seized Sicily and its surrounding islands. Antonin owned South Italy and some parts of the North, as well as Sardinia and half of the world. At the heart of Antonin are Emperor Aaron and his seventeen sons. At the heart of Lucerano are Empress Lidia Gaia Lucilius Cilo and her daughter Beatrice and her son, first-heir Lupous. Under the curtain of Bella Italia lay a country at war with itself.
Under all of that lay a deeper secret.
WHO ARE THEY?
In the Pre-Cambrian Era of Earth, everything was quiet. The Draconizica Empire, a society of intelligent space dragons, had deployed their troops to the planet Earth. The troops came back with a full report: there was no sentient life. So the dragons sent two million of their species to Earth and made it their home. When humans had arrived, dragons were friendly to them. Years later when humans had evolved enough, they had become companions to dragons. The earth dragons formed an “extended branch” of their empire called Antonin.
In the 21st century dragons are a regular part of society. Some are companions to humans, but most are not. The dragon empire’s rivals are the Crotonians, dangerous insectoid shifters whom are at the base of the Lucerano Empire. The two empires have been at war since the Crotonians landed on Earth, seeking what the Dragons possessed.
Dragon’s War Part 1: Overture
Years into the future… (year 2031)
SONG: http://youtu.be/sW7x6c9TksI 世界は構築される by Rekka Katakiri ( 片霧烈火 )
The winged friends of humanity were rejoicing tonight. In Italy, the setting sun gave way to an orange sky. Society had stopped for a moment to listen as the Emperor’s son addressed the world. Computers were hijacked, television and radio shows were interrupted, mobile devices replayed the message, and we, the audience, were forced to listen as an important day in Dragon history was made.
I have seen how far your corruption spreads. You think we don’t have feelings and that we’re just animals…
People couldn’t confine to their social networks to converse about this. Some people were becoming fearful. Not even those in their car could escape the message, even if they turned their power off.
You use us like cattle, you kill us and steal our precious resources…
Emperor Aaron couldn’t stop his ardent son from creating the biggest event that could throw him out of power. He gritted his teeth as his son delivered a message of “hope” to his dragons.
We are much more advanced than you think. It was the mistake of my father for keeping our secret buried as you murdered us. We will NOT take the damage from you anymore. My dragons will NOT succumb to your sickening experiments, torture and slavery. We are free people and I will make sure we extract our vengeance upon you and show you who we really are!
When he spoke the part about free people, his voice became loud with anger and hope. Aaron held Seraphina’s hand and kissed her on the cheek to ensure her worries.
I, Prince Ashuton Karrucci, God of Dragons, will declare war upon humanity! When I feel you have been crippled enough, I will see if you deserve a reprieve.
This was the part where the Dragons started rejoicing. The human-dragon shifters quickly changed into their dragon forms and started mauling people in the streets. The regular dragons were doing much more damage. People were found dead in their homes. Whole families were butchered like, well, cattle. Some people had saddles strapped to their backs. When power was restored, the social networking sites blew up in a storm of concerned posts and tweets. When the military stepped in, things became worse. The media branded these events as the “Awakening of Dragons.” People said Antonin was doing nothing to call off the Dragons, to stop them from venting their anger, but Antonin supporters said the rebellion was necessary and was “coming sooner than later.”
After thirty minutes of screaming and running, there was a loud siren that was heard all around the planet. Thousands of people were witnesses to the dragons’ true power. From the skies came warships, not the UFO types that the Greys had. These warships were made for brutal wars. It was September 23rd when the ships appeared by the millions with flying Dragons beside them. In San Francisco, the location of a hidden Dragonshrine, a large life form had slithered up form the water. Its scream was deep and guttural, its face was old and ancient. It opened its mouth, letting out a deafening roar. He is Serpentrust, the Dragon of the sea. He dwells in the lava of the Earth until he is called to assist. The dragons put a “life mindset” into him, so His purpose in life is to break the Earth and recreate it anew. He coiled, lifting his great tail. The water slid and splashed back whence it came when he pounded the bridge, sending cars flying. Medium sized dragons flew by and caught the cars with their talons before they hit the icy waters. Their new orders were not to kill, but to capture.
The media world was up in a buzz. Serpentrust’s attack was the headline on every newspaper and on every news station. Breaking news broadcasts had interrupted television shows to inform the world about the event.
Terrible Aliens Attack: Death toll estimated to be 2 million.
Giant snake destroys San Francisco! Are Dragons Aliens?
Have we been living amongst the third kind?
Are we in for a time-out from Mommy?
After Serpentrust’s opening, then came the initial attack. Pods were deployed from cruiser-ships manned by human-dragon shifters, and these pods contained Dragon hybrids. These hybrids are bipedal and a few have wings on their back. The ones with wings wore specially made armor and were positioned in the back of the army. Newmark City’s military base was of great importance to Ashuton Karrucci. Inside it was his most precious dragonling: a brown King Dragon with little white spots. His color and his genetics were a rarity amongst dragonkind. The soldiers had no clue what they were up against when the troops appeared. Their weapons were superior, their armor was superior, and everything about them screamed ALIENS. Their armor was resistant to the petty bullets that sprung from human weapons at high fire rates. No weapon that the soldiers wielded could pierce it. Some of the ground troops moved slowly because of the armor, but they had aid from the medium-sized Dragons in the skies. There were other cities that were less fortunate than Newmark, like Paris. The Dragons came in mass numbers. They doused a breath of fire to houses, streets, and anything that wanted to put up a fight. Armed forces of the human military fought back, as did regular people whom were armed with cans and axes. The death toll was high for both sides, but it was not over.
After all the Earth capital cities were under Dragon control, the creatures decided to take the rest of the world with their “Father,” starting with Chicago, the last human resistance stronghold.
Going underground was not a safe option. The dragons that lurked there were either rejected by society or fed off of loneliness.
The ground shook, and the earth beneath it tore open, and the dragon father had risen into the sky. People were in awe and felt all hope drain away. Everything came to a standstill as this shadow made of billions of dragons had appeared over the city. By looking at the dragon’s face one could tell it was wider than the largest city. This event was called “The Mosaic,” and the black dragon over the city was called The Vessel. The dragon was famous in fabled tales, myths and long-drawn out legends. They all had the same point: when he appeared, all hell would break loose, and it did. The dragons burst out of his formation like a swarm of locusts. We did not stand a chance when the creatures struck by the billions, capturing and silencing all their claws could catch.
The skies were red with fury as the dragons, alongside their airships, scorched the city. The swarm died down in an hour, when all the humans in Chicago were captured like bugs. They were shackled and bound as they marched in line. Seven days later, the dragons began to build a fortress to accommodate their father. Even then people were still in disbelief that Dragons had constructed superior technology.
The “anthromorphic” dragon soldiers and their flying counterparts kept the humans in concentration camps and did not release them until the Fortress was half-constructed. People were forced to walk in a line down Michigan Avenue, and could not stop until they reached the fortress at the center of the city. As they walked, a young mother was able to free her little girl. The soldiers noticed and saw the little girl run off into the dark, cold alleyways. Ten soldiers followed after, hoping not to lose their catch. To them, every human life was valuable.
Dragon’s War Part 2: Cornered
The girl ran out of the alleyways and continued down the cluttered streets
Running past everything that were fighting the dragons
The remnants of the US Military launched an assault on the dragon platoon that was forcing people to walk down Michigan Avenue
Soldiers, downed helicopters, rotting bodies, and dead lizards, everything was happening
She avoided gunfire and covered her ears at the sound of explosions
She held her teddy bear tight as she dove for another alleyway
She stopped
Everything was still
She walked quietly as her shadow grew big on the wall
Flames of fire licked the air violently
And hisses of birds had caused her to pause
She looked around anxiously
Her heart anticipated seeing the dragons
The hisses grew louder
She ran to a corner and gazed at the wall before her
There was no way to escape. The concrete was too high!
Their shadows were taller and closer
The girl whimpered as they came into view
The alien soldiers walked on two feet
And wore masks to conceal their faces
Like phantoms
There is no sweet ending for the little girl
There is no mercy
Dragon’s War Part 3: Glances
The start of the war was traced back to its roots, to a time when the Juice Trade dominated the world’s black market. Human-dragons were captured and sometimes murdered for the sweet juice they produce. Madison Grey, a detective from Rome’s bureau, went undercover and witnessed the cruelty first hand. She posed as a worker to gain access into one of the Juice factories. She met the Boss in his office at his request. He was like the typical fat boss: he smoked a cigar, worse a suit that barley fits, and had a graying moustache on his face. His name, Heigsen, suggested he was German. The first thing he asked was, “who are you?”
“I’m Shell Wanderban,” She lied, “I am a transfer from Perch-Tech Industries. What’s my first task at hand, sir?”
“You report to Wendell down in B-Sector for your tasks.” Said Heigsen.
He went to his desk and skimmed his hand along the ridged edges of a porcelain dragon statue.
“These creatures have been hiding things from us.” He said. His eyes were entranced by the magnificent statue.
“Like what?” asked Shell (Madison).
“Their bodies produce such amazing materials. The Juice, as they call it, is a real moneymaker. You can do a lot with it. Make your own drugs, make your own makeup, put it in food, keep ‘em coming for more, keep ‘em spending.”
Shell was starting to feel concerned, “Sir?”
The gritty old man took his eyes of the statue and coughed, “Go, go. Go see Wendell. I have no use for you right now.”
Shell complied and bowed before leaving. She always bowed, like how her Mother used to do.
Down in B-sector, there was tons of chaos, especially from loud voices. Human-dragons were forced in orderly lines. They were escorted to operating rooms, and without anesthesia they were cut open. Ashuton had taken the form of a little boy, and when he was captured he saw the process of dehumanization. Guards had forced the dragon-humans into tubs where they were cleaned—Everywhere—even secretive places! Then they were forced onto strange toilets. Guards and scientists watched eagerly. Some of the captives were forced to drink gallons of water to flush out the juice.
Once the juice was excreted the captives were useless. The scientists examined the orange-colored juice for bacteria. One scientist had found large amounts in the canister. God forbid if it belongs to Ashuton…and it did. This forced the guards to drug him with a syringe. He felt like he was swimming in the sea, then he blacked out. A bacterial-killing medicine was injected inside him, but his body rejected it. It hated every drop of the medicated liquid. And the boy was forced into quarantine. Shell had the pleasure of meeting Ashuton when the escort came through B-Sector. She was surprised to see a child his age walking through there, but she hadn’t a clue he was not a child. She walked over to him and spoke, “hello, little one.”
“Hi.” He responded quietly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked innocently.
Something in him clicked, “What’s wrong? You see nothing wrong about this?”
Shell leaned in closer to him, “I know this is very wrong but—”
“But nothing!” he shouted, “You will all pay for killing my children. We’ve done nothing to you! But for years I sat back and watched as your race became more malignant towards us, and no more will I let further harm come to my family!”
Shell walked away from him and saw his eyes glow bright green. A security escort soldier wearing a gas mask came and pushed the boy along.
“Keep going, we don’t have all day.”
Shell watched the boy until he was out of sight.
I’ve met him…I met the dragon god!
During the escort he saw a little black dragon that wore a spiked dog collar. Three men were pulling the creature by its leash and forced it to eject juice from its fangs. Once used up, they slaughtered the dragon, its neck was cut off and its body was thrown onto a pile of other dead and rotting dragon bodies, which the savage or hungry surviving dragons fed off. The juice was packaged in boxes and is shipped off to supermarkets and is also given to companies and they throw it into food at restaurant and fast food chains. The juice was a real-time moneymaker.
During his containment, Ashuton bonded with an old man. He talked about the savage process and said it can be done another way without killing innocent dragons. The old man told Ashuton of his life and Ashuton listened intently as the man described his daughter. But the man was later hung for being ‘extinct’ (a term meaning ‘out of juice’).
Ashuton was given one chance to leave, but at a price
They gave him a head start to run across the field
And when he was far enough they targeted him with their sniper rifles
And just one shot caused the boy to die in the middle of the field
Just a few steps from salvation
The Warden kicked the kid in the stomach and there was no response, so The Warden assumed the boy was dead as he walked away quietly
But there was a tug at his leg and the Warden looked down
The child was staring him cold in the eyes
That piercing stare was all the Warden could remember as he fell dead from a fatal heart attack
The guards saw the boy run off into the woods
And they ran after him in confusion
But Ashuton had escaped into the dead of night
Dragon’s War Part 4: Reverie
After the war
Everyone escaped underground in hopes of avoiding death by the dragons
Children were cold, dirtied and cuddled by their mothers for comfort
And pets had their mouths taped to keep them quiet
During feeding time they would be untapped
And if your pet was too loud it had to be silenced or set free
David was lucky to be alive
But he wanted to kill himself because his mother, father, daughter and wife died
They died by the hands of a Swordsman dragon
But David saved a girl from being slaughtered
And they escaped to the underground caverns in search of new life
Feeding off dead animals and mutated beings, life there wasn’t as bad as it could be
The radiation from above ground caused cancer in most of the children
The radiation came from factories and nuclear plants that had been destroyed in the war
The Earth would have been inhospitable if the Dragons hadn’t cleaned up the radiation
Tuesday morning was when everything changed
David and other townsfolk woke up to the sound of engines
He rushed out of his shabby living quarters, the girl running with him, and went out past town limits to investigate the sound
He saw a bright light coming from the end of the tunnel
And in its wake he saw a dragon-manned vehicle coming his way
The little girl held tight to him as she stared Death in the face
She looked up and saw the ground above them lift up
Staring back at her was the face of an angry Dragon god
The creature unleashed his deafening roar at the town and his bipedal dragon soldiers jumped in to capture the little colony of people
The townsfolk broke into a scurry, most of them going towards the dragon ship because the Town escape ship was that way
David grabbed the little girl’s hand and ran in the opposite direction
Far from the dragons’ reach
He led her into a storm drain
And that storm drain was famous for being the entryway into Unforgivingness
That was the new name for the world the Dragons’ claimed
They crawled as quickly as they could, hearing shrieks of dragons from behind them
And when they reached the end of the tunnel they saw first hand the devastation of the world
David’s iPhone radio started to kick in without warning
“The dragon ships appeared over Earth last year. Only a small percentage of the world was destroyed. All of our communication devices had been cut off until now. It seems the creatures have restored our power.”
That broadcast was a bit refreshing to him
“Where do we go now?” asked the girl.
“To town. We’ll go to town.” Said David breathlessly.
“The president and vice president are being held captive. The Antonin royal family said they had no comment on the events. Many speculate the reason for the worldwide outage was because the dragons want the rest of the world to live in fear until things were restored.”
David and Leslie walked through desolate streets
Newspapers were scattered about, cars were smoking or were on fire, houses were abandoned and ghostly as ever, and as they walked by each electronics store, televisions and radios would suddenly shut on and broadcast the local news.
“World leaders are being forced to meet with the Dragon elders in Washington. The dragons ensured us of the safety of the leaders if we complied.”
Leslie’s eyes suddenly went wide and she shouted, “LOOK!”
Last Kingdom
The newspapers were carried off by the loving wind
A storm was blossoming in the skies as the clouds slowly turned gray
The streets were vacant, empty of anything living except stray animals
Buildings were deserted, no sign of life living inside them
A couch stayed overturned
A bowl of popcorn was left untouched
The cash register was a broken mess on the floor
And money was no longer needed because there would be no one there to use it
Everything was free because nobody owned it
The giant tentacles were still digging up the pillars from beneath
They were still hard at work, descending from the clouds to pick up the pieces
On the outside, where everything was quiet, there was a sign of life at the towers
Thousands, maybe millions, were forced behind fences
The Dragon overlord told them the next step for evolution was arriving
There were outcries, but they did not understand
Why did they hate them so much?
As the days went by, the few dragon gods on Earth had expanded themselves
They melded and created for the sake of preservation
When the towers had been fully constructed, people were allowed back into their cities
Some world leaders expressed interest in revenge while others wanted to leave it alone
The Emperor of Antonin made a public speech, apologizing for his son’s actions
But he thought about it…Ashuton had every right to do it
So he took his words back and said the dragons suffered long enough
And that he failed to quickly act to quell their suffering
As days progressed to years, and things died out, humanity had returned to what it once was
But those towers above the cities were a permanent part of the landscape
There were skirmishes here and there
And there were those that wished to bring down the Dragon Empire
Those “radicals” could not see that the dragons were directing Earth towards greatness
The Sacrifice of Tind
Those whom clung to the wings were the true warriors. Before the war had started, President O’Shelly had declared a mass assassination of all the dragon-shifters in the Tind area. Tind was a government-controlled area that kept dragon shifters locked within a forest that was guarded by thousands of military men. Every night a client of the black market would come to Tind for a trade: one pitcher of Juice from a dragon. 38% of the money went to O’Shelly, 40% went to the militants while the rest went to maintaining Tind. When word got out of Tind, Antonin officials came to the commune for investigation. O’Shelly had the militants threaten the dragons to stay quiet, but they couldn’t watch everyone. Juan Santos, an elderly dragon-shifter, screamed from his house, “they’re holding us all captive! Save us!”
But his sentence was cut short by a golden bullet. The Officials tried to escape but were cornered by the militants. They shifted forms, revealing their dragonessence: one was western and the other was Eastern. They were brutal in their fighting, clamping their maws around the bodies of the hapless fighters. The bullets they used were laden with Copperminer, which was a new type of poison that was harvested during a dig to the Earth’s crust.
Everyone wanted to feel the freedom, and they all rebelled against the militants. The children and teenagers fought alongside their parents, each of them varying in sizes. The soldiers were given orders to refrain from shooting the “products,” but when one of them started to open fire, the rest of them followed. The young ones, inexperienced in the art of “Dragonlinging,” were the first ones to be shot without mercy. Dragonlinging was an old Technology power that allowed one to move quickly and slow incoming attacks that would threaten their livelihood. The dragon-shifters of Tind weren’t allowed any type of education in dragonism, so they never knew Dragonlinging existed, but they had proper knowledge about Draconizica. They dreamed of being with their cousins and living the life a Dragon should be living, but they were confined to a town guarded by their worst nightmares.
The fighting waged on, but the dead outnumbered the living. The raining sound of bullets and shell cases was a hollow and frightening sound of bewilderment to anyone listening from a distance. One little Dragonchild tried to use the power of Hynnody to deflect an attack on his Mother, but his little powers couldn’t hold up the force field barrier. Three silver bullets was all it took to send the child tumbling to the ground. When the Officials escaped the hell of battle, the few hundred civilians were cornered at gunpoint. Things were in silent tension for a whole week.
Word had spread about Tind and O’Shelly was impeached from the White House and his presidency. He retreated to one of the many ghost islands off the coast of Italy, which was a fatal choice. He gave the order for the militants left under his command to assassinate anything living in that village. Every man, woman and child were to be executed. No shifters left alive. That night the civilians were gathered by the firefly pond. Some cuddled by their family members for comfort, while others gave warning stares at their assassinators. The general gave the order, “Ready, Aim, FIRE!”
The sound of a hundred gunshots sounded all at once, and the remaining dragon-shifters of Tind were killed, execution style, and none were left alive.
The next morning, one of the Officials returned with Ashuton, Aaron and a few other dragon princes, but were too late to stop the slaughter. The Dragons in Tind village were dead. All of them, in human and dragon forms, were dead in their own pool of blood and spilled organs. Ashuton discovered the executed civilians by the pond, and the sight sent his mind reeling. They were lifeless shells, their eyes were puffy from tears of fear and their skulls shattered by bullets. Prince Ashuton cared deeply for every dragon he birthed. Every egg that came from his body was filled with his love, and to see his own children DEAD, executed and dismembered was like a punch to his heart. This was probably the three-thousandth time he’d seen something like this in the twenty-year period. Dragons were being treated poorly ever since the “Reaping of 2012.” He couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to bring his children out of the darkness.
Rifton’s Last Moments
I’m a happy dragon, playin’ my Dragon lute! I’m a happy alien with my Dragon wings.
I’m a happy dragon, fishin’ with my clutchmate buddies! I’m a happy dragon, tearin’ your city up.
He sang that song every morning. He sang when he woke up and he sang until he closed his eyes to sleep. He was a dragon with a human side to himself. His name was Rifton and he was one of the many inhabitants of Tind. He was also the first to have his arms painfully severed, and his dragony essence stolen away by strange masked men with assault rifles. They looked scary; he could barely see their eyes. He kissed the grass as his life was sucked out of him. He felt he didn’t care anymore. He could not open his mouth to sing, the pain stifled his voice. His torn and dirtied shirt was slowly colored red and green by his own blood. He bled both ways; human and dragon. He looked up one last time and saw the barrel of an assault rifle and the masked wielder. He’ll never forget that face…if he lives to have anything forgotten.
The words he said to them: “Dragons bleed green blood” was unforgettable.
The Wanderers
Ireland, vast and deserted
Hills are silent, towns are quiet
No footsteps can be heard here
Three little nuggets—or children as you call ‘em—were alone
In a ditch full of mud, perfectly concealed
They came there during the fire, when the world was ablaze
Uphill they traversed, keeping their footing
The search for food and water never ended
In the sky, look up
Dragons are flying overhead, calculating your footsteps
A few Wyverns and a Drake, but no Six-Limbers
They find salvation at a farmhouse—free at last!
They could hear the triple-pounding clap of gunfire
From a rifle—maybe a band of survivors fighting off dragons—but it quickly sufficed
“We best not go out there,” said a young German boy named Roth
He wanted to cut off his hair again
Loosen his mind up
His blonde hair was nearly the length it was last year when he removed it
Roth could almost feel the scissors in his grasp
Small hands plopped an orange on his lap
A little girl, young and unknowing, asked him, “Can you peel orange?”
Her English was still a bit broken
But why expect a French girl shy of four to speak perfect English?
Channi, named for the clothing company, was the name her parents gave her
He could see the innocence in her hazel eyes and chubby face
He ruffed her hair and smiled, wishing he could see his parents again
He wanted to see them and not their screaming faces when they were kidnapped
The smell of orange was slightly inviting
“I could eat this thing if it didn’t give me heartburn,” he said
“Heartburn?” she asked, her reply barely sounding like the word
“Yes,” he took a deep breath to savor the smell, “oranges give me heartburn.”
Moonlight claimed rule over the land
Half the earth engulfed in dark, the other facing the sun
Levin, the third traveler and a young Jamaican boy, watched the surroundings
He could see the faint silhouettes of Dragons
In the cold night, he spotted a gathering
At first he was alarmed at seeing so many dragons gather in front of the view of the moon
But the moonlight enabled him to see what they were doing
They were carrying things that looked like building material
It took cooperation
He saw several dragons helping a medium-size Wyvern
They dropped their findings above a forest
Levin rushed from his post and searched through the house
During his quickness, Roth opened his eyes to the sounds
“What are you doing?” he asked, completely irritated
“I need binoculars!” said Levin, “the Dragons are doing something!”
“Like what?”
“They’re…they’re building!”
Roth sat up, rubbing his eyes and trying to understand Levin’s words, “Building?”
Levin threw about some papers as he searched a desk, “Yea! That’s what it looked like.”
He rummaged through manuals on birds
Mocking jays, Robins, Blue birds, Doves, you name ‘em
He finally found heavy black binoculars, perfect for examination
He ran back to his post on the roof, quickly climbing the broken pieces of wood
Roth wanted to follow, but his mind was drowsy
He slowly walked out, rubbing his sleep-laden eyes
The backdrop of the sky created shadows of trees
The rumbling ground had caught Roth’s attention
Quickly he climbed, reaching the roof
A gasp escaped his mouth, his eyes grew wide
The heavy binoculars slipped from Levin’s hands
Children, with no parent to run to, witnessed the construction of a tower
Ships and Hoverlasers surrounded the steel and metal
The dragons were holding the metal steady as it melded together
“Tomorrow, we need to leave,” said Roth
Levin nodded in a dream-daze state
By morning light, they ventured to a safe house in the forest
The walls were littered with writings from past occupants
“The world has gone to ashes.”
“They can see us.”
“The Government is dead.”
“Whatever happened to independence?”
Levin decided to add his own stanza to the wall
“The food and water rations are low.”
Roth peeled open the last orange for Channi
He looked upon the orange with disdain
He took a piece for himself and reluctantly consumed it
He stood and opened the shack door
“The city is within reach…” he contemplated, “I have to go.”
He turned, facing his two friends, and said, “I’m going to the city.”
Levin’s head jerked up, slightly afraid for his friend
“Don’t go…”
“I must. We’ll starve.”
Levin couldn’t deny that fact, “yes but do you have to go yourself?”
“We can’t risk taking Channi,” said Roth, “she’s four years off her Undyear.”
The little girl handed him a dead butterfly she found in the corner
Roth cherished it, and before walking off he said, “I’ll come back with our food.”
* * *
The world looked so strange
Half of Dublin lay in ruins caused by the war
Atop the hill he could see the heads of Wyrms that touched down from the sky
The extremity of their size caused them to move like turtles
Three of them, longer and wider than a city, were large creatures of fear
Roth has seen them before
They are the great builders
Roth descended down the hill and towards the Unforgiving
Trashcans, cars, street-side stores
It proved to be useless
The supermarket was his last resort
He knew the dangers of markets
He crossed a bridge and headed towards a deserted park
Serpentine eyes were watching his footsteps
From the river, a tail wrapped around his leg and pulled him away
Roth grabbed the blades of grass that were useless against the serpent’s pull
“Help! Stop this thing!”
He knew nobody would hear him but he had to chance it
He tried with all his strength to hold the pavement
The serpent easily reeled him into the water
It lightly bit into his neck, giving him the power to breathe in the water
The tan-white beast disappeared into the cold liquids of the river
Taking Roth with him
Levin and Channi ventured out after three days
They stood on the hill, the same as Roth
They checked trashcans and stores—just like Roth
They unknowingly traced his path of uncertainty
This time a green serpent stole the children
It whisked them away under the calm waters
When Levin opened his eyes, he saw the serpent heading towards a tall tower
He took a big gulp as he anticipated what was to come
Dragonbed: Aprés Le Rêve
Only after did she realize she was human
Only after did she truly realize she wasn’t
Of all the things the girl knew, being human wasn’t one of them
She sat in the room and recollected memories
The end of the world was going on right outside her window
Dragons were attacking from space
Dragons with weapons, fire, technology and speech
She softly stroked his head and whispered, “it will be over, soon.”
But the man did not understand
They were from two worlds
He was Italian and she was English
He was human, she was dragon-human with a computer inside her
Only one thing they both agreed on: they needed each other
There is a war going on, a war that no eyes will believe
She let a tear fall from here eyes
A tear, yes—a tear—giving notice that computers cry
Claud, io ti tenere fino a quando questo mondo finisce.
Claudio, I will forever hold you until this world ends.
Cry
Klea said:
Cry, little girl! Cry!
For when the winds pass by, your laptop will be nothing!
Cry, little boy, Cry!
The hard-earned gold you spent on that Xbox will be burned away in seconds.
Cry, you little boy! Cry!
For in minutes, your beloved city will be wiped away
Mourn as your years of hard work become doused in fire
He said:
Oh, cruel Moon, listen as I call upon those Gods, and my sister Latriost. Listen to the prayers that come from my teenaged mouth
Klea said:
You little monsters and your strange ways
Your weird boys and your sweeping hair and skateboards
It’s like watching clones ride by like cicadas that pass into another country
Cry, you damn monster! Cry!
Your times are over
It is the Dragons’ time to reclaim the Earth
We call to our dragon, Prince Ashuton, wrath of the burning sky, to deal with you
To make a beast of Draconizica angry is a sin
He said:
I call upon Latriost, my sister in Heaven, to protect me from the beast that has risen above seven cities
Klea said:
Now you pray? Now you pray?
Where were you when you fell off your skateboard?
Where are your friends? ANSWER ME, Skaterboy!
Please, release me from this. Protect me. Let me live long enough to see my family reach salvation. Please, Goddess of the metropolis of Latriost, Help me!!!!
Klea kneeled, whispering:
Pray. Like you should.
Image is Skaterboy by S. Ruehlow from Flickr.com: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33784579@N05/3635462877/
The Valley in the Shadow of Death
I awoke someplace. A dismal place. It was dark, very dark. I was scared, very scared. I looked here, I looked there. He told me not to fear. I looked there, I looked here…at you. I realized I am on a plane returning from Comic Con and back to my simple life. But then the plane turns into a dragon and birds are flying all around and making me laugh. But then I realize that when I open my eyes I am grounded to this plane and all the reality taken with it. I can’t defy the odds, I can’t do intense parkour like my brother Alexander, but again he had imagination too. I dream Miglen and the King Dragon travel through the first part of the valley, and am greeted to a barren landscape dominated by ominous clouds. But that was a dream as well.
The plane landed and I was back in the small Louisiana town I love so much. I wanted to go back to fantasyland, which I think I’ll do tonight. But my friends are coming over. I’ll call them all and tell them to stay. I want company and only their company. I’ve been alone long enough, from my loud hotel room to my dismal booth at the happy and live Comic Con. Where did all the fun go? The day I turned twenty, that’s where it went.
When I returned home to the metropolis everybody calls “Serpentrust”, my friend Carter Jones greeted me.
“Hey!” I said from across the room.
He turned and saw me and raised a hand to wave.
“Where have you been?” he asked when I reached him.
“Uh…away.” I said, obviously lying.
“You ready for that party tonight?” he asked.
“You know it.” I said.
That ‘party’ is Carter’s way of welcoming me home. In the car we talked while music was booming in the background. We talked about my worthless trip and how I met a woman named Renee. She raped me.
“She raped you?” Carter repeated, on the verge of a laugh.
“Yeah, she tricked me into buying her a drink, then she bought me one and I took it. Next thing I knew I was on a bed with silky red covers. My arms were chained – ”
“Your arms were chained?” Carter interrupted.
“Carter, can you come back to Earth?” I said.
We arrived at my place in a little under an hour. I was ready to get out of my suit and into the bed for a long overdue nap. I opened to door and–
“SURPRISE!!”
I dropped my keys as I saw my friends all shouting happily. I was frozen!
Carter patted me on the shoulder, “This is for ditching us.”
“Wh-what?”
Kiera, one of my friends, asked me, “Where’ve you been?”
“I’ve been…away.” I said as I proceeded to the table. I threw off my jacket and took a glass full of wine. It was great to be tasting something with flavor.
“I’ve been away, I cant tell you where but I’m as glad as heck to be back.”
Kiera clapped happily, “Yay! I‘ve missed you. Eric and I have something for you!”
“Glad to have you back.” Carter said as he held up his glass.
I held up mine and said, “no place like home.” And the party began.
#
Everything is blurry, red and…blurry. The marble tile floor reflected red light. Why am I on the floor? I looked around with my eyes and saw Kiera on the floor, her eyes closed. I couldn’t feel my legs or hear anything. I used the strength in my arms to crawl to her.
Johnny?
I felt a strong sensation when I touched her hand. My eyesight was no longer blurry and my legs are working perfectly. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Why is the room dark? Why is everyone sleeping? I looked around: the stereo was off, the VCR was off, and the microwave was off. All of these items have something in common: they are plugged into their respective outlets. Its clear to me there was a power outage.
“Johnny! Johnny!”
I saw Carter standing at the stairs that led to the upper floor and he was sweating and panting.
“Johnny! Come here!” he whispered.
I got up and went to him and I had to step over everybody in my way.
“What’s that red light coming from outside?” I asked.
“I don’t know. That wasn’t there earlier.” He said.
“Earlier? What do you mean? What’s going on?” I said, my voice becoming loud.
“shhh!” Carter shushed at me, and quite panicky. He gazed at the window with a terrified stare. I slowly turned my head to it and saw the reflection of the bushes as the red light pulsated. One second it was dark, another second it was red.
“ssssst.”
I flinched, and the door opened.
“Drop dead!” Carter whispered and we both fell down and pretended to be sleep like everyone else. What the hell is going on? I opened one eye, very slightly, and saw a dragon! It was bipedal, black and red like the types they have in Italy. Behind it were several military soldiers. I saw them as they checked the pulses of my sleeping friends. One soldier pulled away and said, “three dead, the rest are alive.”
Three dead?
Who died? Three of my friends died? Good lord I hope its not Kiera. I saw Carter crawling into the next room. I looked at him cautiously and he gave me the same stare. I had to follow him. We crawled a short distance and we ended up in my grandmother’s room.
“Glad you made it.”
I know that voice. Hernandez, one of my friends, was sitting on the bed with a pocketknife. Before you get any ideas, I know Hernandez and he carries that knife because it keeps the memory of his father alive. Hernandez and I go back years, since the sandbox days. It was a Saturday morning and Carter and I were at the sandbox at the park. We were the gracious few to stride that day. Eric was standing by the window, gazing at the red sky. He and I had only one thing in common: we both love Kiera.
I heard a lot of clatter, mostly from the kitchen.
“lock the door.” I whispered to Carter. He slowly got up and closed the door as quietly as possible and locked it. I turned to Hernandez and said, “what the hell is going on? We gotta get out of here.”
Eric sighed, “Are you kidding? Their war ships and walking machines are everywhere!”
“what happened?” I asked.
“The sky turned red and this giant ship appeared overhead and millions of dragons came flying out like flies. Then they brought those weird walking machines and airships. Before that there was a worldwide broadcast that cut into every possible channel on TV, computers and phones! The prince of Italy said he despised how the world was treating dragons and how humans were messin’ it up. He said in one hour the world would be reclaimed by the dragons and turned into the glory land! You guys fell out when it happened. I was in here with Yvonne when the Blue Channel outside the city collapsed. I panicked when I saw the broadcast. You should have seen the crowd behind him and at the piazza where he broadcast his speech. I’ve never been so afraid of night! I heard the president took shelter!”
We were speechless for a moment. Eric was biting his fingers and shaking his hands. Eric broke the silence, “Where’s Yvonne?”
“She ran outside. I ran back in here.” Said Hernandez.
Again I asked Hernandez, “What’s happening?”
“The dragon apocalypse, man! I just told you!”
We all paused for a moment, doing nothing but breathing. Then I said, “we have to jump out of the window.”
Carter looked at me surprisingly then said, “I’ll get the ladder.”
“you cant!” I protested.
“have you seen how far that is?”
I sighed, and he spoke again, “wait…are the gutters on this side?”
“yeah.” I said.
“we can slide down using the gutter.”
Hernandez opened the window and the moment he did the soldiers busted in. one shouted and me and Carter dashed for the window. I slid first, Hernandez second and carter last. The sky was blood red of dragon blood and the air smelt of hell’s burning bodies, at least that’s how carter said it. We ran to the streets, all the cars were stuck in traffic, and we jumped over the bridge and into the waters. It was a hard-ass jump in but we emerged alive. We swam to dry land and walked down an empty road, the forest on the far right, past the football field, was giving smoke away. We walked like three men in dire need of water. I thought of Kiera. I want her to be alive.
I looked to red apocalyptic skies and dead stars that resembled black dots. Now I know my life is really messed up. What happened we were sleep? That was already explained. I saw a lady running up the hill with her child and I asked her, “What happened?”
“The dragons! The dragons are killing us! Their family came from space!” she cried in the native language.
I watched her run off and then I turned my attention back to the ruined city. The day is December 19, 2012. of all things, of all days! The dragons know something about the world and Serpentrust. The metropolis was well known for its vibrant nightlife and high technology. Now it seem Serpentrust is erased in a dream, the night under fire.
#
I never thought I’d live to see the day the dragon apocalypse would come. They are eradicating mankind and destroying everything that reminds us of ourselves. The reason is so simple. They want build their cities and mow ours down to plant trees. Yes, Earth is now a big construction zone. All pawns, kings, queens and castles must be torn down and killed so the dragons can land, build and repopulate and live better than we did. But I’ve heard that dragons like to keep alive the inhabitants of planets they dominate. It generates a feeling of being above you. I remember that man, Prince Ashuton, he told me: You have all lived like mindless bugs. All you do is kill, repopulate and spend spare time breaking your backs for others that pay you with meager funds. You are lead by people that don’t care and they mess up, leave and pin it on the good.
He was the Vessel at that time and a raving homicidal maniac. He was sick of dragons being slaves, food and flunkies to humans, and he was fed up with how we did our planet. The dragon leader has held them back from killing humans but then he gave leadership to his son, Ashuton. That boy let them loose. From all I know the dragons are mad-happy to have the will to kill us. If there is one terrifying aspect about them, it’s the fact that they torture you to death so you can feel their pain. In some cases they leave you alive and watch you die, in other cases they eat you alive. Slowly sinking their teeth into your chest. I remember that day I witnessed something like that. Actually it was a few minuets ago. The three of us would be walking dead men if we stayed out in the open, so we used the tall grass as our pathway.
A few times I saw Eric’s hand shake uncontrollably. I knew he was thinking of Kiera.
Out of nowhere, one of the alien dropships shot over and went past the mountains. It came back around and we ducked for cover, but the drop ship’s searchlight caught sight of Eric and me.
“Johnny!” shouted Carter.
“Meet us at the South Paw!” I shouted, “go! Now!”
Last I saw, he and Hernandez evaded the swarm of ships by hiding in a sewer. Everything else went blank.
Eric and I were dragged away by bipedal armored dragon soldiers. They took us into a dungeon in the highest garret of the Dragon Castle of Bones. I read a lot about the castle. It was famous for it’s connection to medieval times. It was the dead of night and the red color scheme sky had cleared into that serene night black. We were thrown like dolls in a prison cell. The window above us was the only exit from this place. Eric was thinking my same thought.
“Johnny, you are stronger than me. You’re the only one who knows about Ashuton’s plan. He spoke to you, right? You work with him, right?” He said, and I knew the direction this was going.
“No. no. no. no. no.” I shook my head repeatedly but he kept talking, “I’ll help you escape through that window shaft.”
I talked against him, “No, you come with me or we die together, as brothers.”
“No, Johnny. You know who the ACPI is. You can get it to help us. If the Pillars of Light are active our galaxy will cluster with theirs. We’ll have no choice but to surrender. Everything we built, our life on Mars, our water cities on Venus, everything will be gone if they take ownership of our galaxy.”
I always liked his intellect. I was the only one of his friends that understood his every word while others failed to follow. He helped me escaped and I managed to climb down to the window. When the dragon guards arrived they were shocked to know of my disappearance. A few of them shouted angrily in Italian and Hymost and darted off while five of them stayed behind. The Commander dragon, a bipedal king with a crown, had withdrawn a whip from his silk woven cape. He lashed hard at Eric, whom maintained a strong resolve until the group aided the commander. By then his screams are ear piercing.
I followed the forest trail to the Southern Lex Paw nightclub, and saw Hernandez and Carter sitting next to a tree on the hill.
“Hey!” I called. They looked back at me and nodded.
“Where’s Eric?” asked Hernandez.
“He stayed behind, told me to go.” He said.
He nodded and said, “The South Paw night club is under fire. The dragons took it this morning, I heard. Carter’s been listening to the news. Someone told me that they dragged out a bunch of screaming prostitutes and strippers. Other people were dragged out as well.
They were screaming loudly as the dragon soldiers took them out. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
“We have to go and save Kiera and the others.” I said.
“What? We can’t go back there.” Said Hernandez.
I spoke defiantly, “we can and we will. We’re not going to let them take away what makes us human. What makes us human is the good we do. Whether it’s sacrifice, doing something crazy for the better, or going back to save our friends, we will be humans while doing it!”
Cater glanced at me, he knew I was right. He stood up and tore a slim branch off the tree.
“We can use the branch as a sword.” He said, “I can use Hernandez’s pocketknife to sharpen a few branches.”
“Good.” I said.
Hernandez wrapped his bandage around the knife. We watched the burning nightclub go up in flames. Its neon lights were striving to survive under the heat of the fire. We each took deep breaths before continuing back to my house.
My house! My beautiful house…was wrapped in some sort of nasty dragon goo. Hernandez, Carter and I were across the street behind a bush. There were dragons coming in and out of the house, each of them carrying one of my friends. We went to the house by walking around the guard’s peripheral view and we went in through the back. I saw them in the living room, standing and whispering, and I saw her: Kiera. I slowly walked towards her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She gasped, but when she and everyone else saw me, they silently rejoiced.
“We have to get out of here. Through the back door.” I whispered.
“Hey, you!”
I saw the guard pointing at me, and I grabbed Kiera’s hand and we bolted for the door where Carter and Hernandez were standing. A dozen guards rushed in and captured mostly everyone except Rowley, Jackie and Damon. We made it out, and I winked at Carter for my success.
But the way he was looking at me suggested something. Eyes wide, heavily panting, standing straight and stiff…and then I saw the guard behind him and the guard behind Hernandez. They held pistols to their heads.
“Come with us quietly or they die.” Said the Guard behind Carter.
We had no choice. The thin line had been crossed. I let myself get caught.
By Day 3 Serpentrust had been encased in strange goo, with tall city-like structures protruding from the encased city. It had been weeks since we met the Prince. I remember it and the promise I made to Kiera.
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(Pages 1-43 show above.)